


How to learn to Love again (aka how to piss your subordinates off)

by WingbladeOfTarn



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse in general, Angst, BUT IT GETS ADRESSED, Emotional Abuse, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I love my goopy noot, M/M, Nightmare is scared of love, Polyamory, THAT GETS ADRESSED TOO, alright I can live with that, he is also very stuborn, he just wont admit it, he's an idiot, just realized I made someone a sociopath, mmmm lets see how far I will get with this, nightmare LOVESSS his boys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26602558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingbladeOfTarn/pseuds/WingbladeOfTarn
Summary: Nightmare hasn't loved or been loved in a long time. He is perfectly fine with that. Last time he was loved, he was hurt.His gang thinks he should let them love him. Both parties are incredibly stubborn.VOTING CLOSED!!
Relationships: (one sided... KINDA), Dream/Nightmare - Relationship, Dubcon Nightmare/Dream, Error/Ink, KillerCrossMare, Nightmare/Cross, Nightmare/Killer, killer/cross, sans/sans
Comments: 185
Kudos: 255





	1. I refuse to acknowledge you

To say Nightmare had a secret was an understatement. To the entirety of the Multiverse, he was the strong, powerful, merciless Guardian of Negativity. And that was true. But he also had a deep love for his gang. He loved them like he had once loved his brother, and that scared him. He had seen what love did to him last time, what’s to say it won’t happen again? To him, it was obvious that Dream never loved him, just thought of him as an inconsequential being that also happened to be a guardian as well. (Dream would vehemently disagree with that thought. He would say that he still loves his brother very deeply.) Needless to say, Nightmare is afraid of love. He doesn’t want to hurt his gang, or have his gang hurt him, so he keeps them at arms distance. But it’s obvious for the gang that Nightmare cares. He was very overprotective, and always chases away their bad dreams. And they care for Nightmare too. They just have to show him that they won’t betray him like Dream did. Easier said then done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re doing it wrong.”

“No I’m not!”

“I’ve literally been doing this for years, you’re doing it wrong.”

“There is no specific way to make a sand castle!”

Killer snorted in amusement as he tried to ignore the bickering of Horror and Cross. He was digging a moat to surround his small kingdom when he saw a shadow envelop his hard work.

A human, with a very mean sneer on their face, looked down at him.

“Wow, that castle is so bad looking. No wonder you monsters wanted to get up to the surface. All of your buildings probably fell down!” Killer just blinked up at them. That had to be one of the worst insults he had ever heard. It was so bad, it was almost funny. When Killer didn’t say anything, and just continued to blink up at the human, they got angry.

“What, can’t you understand me?! Stupid fucking weirdos!” And they they stomped on Killer’s kingdom, destroying it entirely. _That_ made Killer mad. He had worked very fucking hard on that! He had been modeling it after Nightmare’s castle! Angry tears built up and began to spill over as he got up to glare hatefully at the human.

The human laughed.

“Awww what a little crybaby!”

Killer was about to punch the human in their stupid teeth when a velvet voice stopped him.

“ **What is going on here?”** Killer immediately tried to stop crying. He was a member of Nightmare’s gang! They didn’t cry over sandcastles being destroyed.

“They destroyed my sandcastle boss.” Nightmare raises an eyebrow.

“ **Really? How rude of them. And what do you say if you destroy something that isn’t yours, human?”** Nightmare asked in an even tone of voice. The human snorted.

“I don’t feel sorry. It was stupid looking, and besides no one should ever have to say sorry to freaks like you.” Nightmare hummed in thought.

“ **So, just to clarify, am I the freak, or is Killer the freak, or-“**

“Both of you are-urk!” The human was cut of when a tentacle wrapped itself around their neck and lifted them into the air.

“ **Do not interrupt me,”** Nightmare said in a still even tone of voice. **“However, I do believe you should be punished for insulting us. We came here to relax and you do this? Very impolite.”** And then Nightmare began to drag them over to the water. The human struggled, but it was no use. Nightmare forced their head under the water until their struggles ceased. Nightmare hissed under his breath, finally showing his anger.

“ **That’ll show you to mess with** _ **my**_ **boys.”**

He didn’t think that anyone heard him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first time Nightmare revived a hug from one of his gang members, he almost killed them. After 500 years of fighting,(and no affection) getting a hug seemed alien. He threw the hugger into a wall hard enough to crack it; then realized what what he did. Putting his hands to his mouth, Nightmare gasped.

“ **Oh god, oh god, Killer I am so sorry!”** Then he seemed to remember who he was supposed to be. **“I mean, that’s what you get. Don’t sneak up on me.”** Killer, despite the pain, rolled his eyelights at how ridiculous his boss was being.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It became very hard for Nightmare to deny how much he cared about his gang after a fight with the Star Sans’s was broadcast through out the multiverse so everyone could see. It would have been fine, except that Dust got hit really badly. Nightmare nearly went insane all over again.

“ **Why is this being filmed?”** Dream smiled at his brother.

“ _So that people can see how dangerous you are! We keep hearing about people wanting to be heroes by taking you on by themselves. That’s suicide,_ _s_ _o we need to show them that!”_

“ **I’m flattered. -I think.”** Dream let out a musical little laugh and dodged Nightmare’s next attack. That was when Nightmare heard it. Dust screaming in pain as Blue’s hammer shattered his ribs, sending shards of bone into his soul.

“ **DUST!”** He ran as fast as he could over to the skeleton and dropped to his knees. Dust’s soul was faintly glowing, and he was barely breathing.

“ **No, no, no, no, no!”** Nightmare looked up.

“ **Killer and Cross! Deal with Dream, Horror, get Dust to safety!”** Nightmare looked at Blue with such hatred that the Star Sans stepped back with a little nervousness. **“How dare you. How** _ **dare**_ **you!”** Tears were spilling out of his sockets. On the right side of his face they spilled purple, while on the left they spilled teal. **“You will pay for that,”** Nightmare snarled, tears falling from his face to the floor. He attacked, his tentacles deadly and sharp, aimed for Blue’s soul. Blue tried to hit Nightmare with his hammer, but a tentacle caught it and snapped it in half. The only reason that Blue wasn’t dust right then and there was because Nightmare wanted him to suffer. Wanted him to feel pain, and beg Nightmare to kill him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dream was very confused when Nightmare took off running in the middle of their fight. When he heard Nightmare crying in worry and agony, he couldn’t help but be surprised. Nightmare never showed that sort of worry towards anyone. Not since the apple incident. But the emotions that he was feeling from Nightmare were indisputable. Nightmare was very worried about Dust, and ready to torture Blue for hurting him. Interesting.

....He should probably go save Blue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightmare was just about shatter Blue’s soul when he was shoved to the ground by Ink. Then Dream came and tried to get Blue to safety. Nightmare hissed. Blue was his. Snapping a tentacle out, he tripped Dream. The positive guardian landed on his face with a grunt, and quickly got up to stand in front of Blue. Nightmare growled in annoyance. To get to Blue, he’d have to go through Dream _and_ Ink. Just his luck.


	2. Philophobia is something you should most likely look into, Error.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see what happens to Dust...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm. Hmm. HMMM. I'm trying to stick to the schedule of posting every week but like. I got really excited with this one. I shall try to stick to posting once a week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dust wheezed in pain. He could feel shards of his own bone slowly start to pierce his soul. Screaming, he barely heard the soothing mantra of Killer. He tried to focus on Killer, tried to focus on the battle, or anything but his slowly dropping HP, but he couldn’t. Slowly, he began to give up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Nightmare! He’s Falling Down!” Killer’s alarmed shout had Nightmare giving one last hateful glare to the Star Sanses.

“ **I will have my revenge for what you’ve done,”** He spat at Blueberry. He turned on his heel and opened a portal to the castle at the same time. As he was stepping through the portal, his teal eyelight shone with power. **“You will not be prepared.”** Then he was gone.

At the Castle it was chaos. Dust was barely clinging to life. The shards of bone his soul were large enough to be seen, but to small to be taken out with just their fingers.

“We don’t have time to get a healer,” Cross whispered. Killer cursed.

“If we don’t get those shards out now he’s going to die!”

 **“Enough. Cross, get the healing gel. Horror, get me some tweezers. Killer, get me the brightest light you can find.”** All three skeletons nodded and ran off to gather their items. When the three returned, they saw Nightmare taking the larger shards out of Dust’s soul. Without a word, Nightmare took the tweezers from Horror and set them down on the table next to the couch Dust was laying on. He quickly plugged in the light Killer had brought and snatched the healing gel from Cross and set it next to the tweezers. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then grabbed the tweezers and slowly began to pull out the tiny shards of bone.

It took hours. There were far more shards of bone than anyone had anticipated. Cross had brought a super-powerful magnifying glass to Nightmare, and he found even more shards. Once Dust was finally stable enough to be taken to a healer, it had almost been twenty-four hours. Running on adrenaline and anxiety, Nightmare anxiously paced as a Toriel from a neutral universe healed Dust. Finally, she stood up, but the expression on her face was grim.

“Lord Nightmare,” She softly began. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Nightmare froze.

 **“The good news,”** he choked out. Toriel nodded.

“He will survive. He is no longer at risk of falling down. However...” She hesitated, clearly struggling to finish her sentence.

 **“However?”** Nightmare growled. Toriel gulped.

“I-I do not know when he will awake. It is very possible that he will be in a coma forever.” A nearby vase shattered. Then a nearby window. Toriel felt as if she were suffocating in… something, but for the life of her, she couldn’t explain what it was.

 **“Get out.”** Nightmare hissed, opening a portal to her universe. Toriel stood frozen, staring at him with wide vacant eyes. **“Get out!”** Nightmare’s angry growl snapped her back into reality. She gasped and stumbled through the portal relieved that she was safely home.

~~~~~~~~~~

Nightmare didn’t know what to do. He knew he had to tell his boys, they deserved to know. But Dust…

Nightmare had worked so hard with him. He had slowly but surely weaned him off his need for LV. He had worked on the long process of returning his sanity, and got him out of the nasty habit of talking to the illusion of his Papyrus. And now all of that was gone? No. He refused to believe it. He refused to believe it. He refused to believe it. Roaring with rage, Nightmare slammed his fist down on the table.

 **“Dust...”** He couldn’t do this. His job was to protect his boys. His job was to keep them safe, happy, and secure. He failed. He failed again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was pretty obvious to the others that something was wrong. They heard glass shatter, Nightmare yelling, and then a loud “crack” sound which they assumed was a table breaking. They all looked at each other, silently voting on who would be the first to face their boss’s rage. Before they could decide who the ~~sacrifice~~ volunteer would be, Nightmare and all his fury came to them.

 **“He’s going to survive,”** Nightmare said after a long period of silence. **“But he could stay in a coma forever.”**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The looks on his boy's faces when he told them Dust was going to live made Nightmare loathe himself and his worthless brother. It almost killed him to say the next part, and when he did, he felt like wrapping them all up in blankets and never letting them go.

 **“I’m sorry,”** He choked out, little more than a whisper before he fled to his office.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how Dust looked before the battle. Dust looked fine, excited for the thought of being able to do something. During his fight with Blue, he… Nightmare cut off his thought process with a snarl.

Blue…

That idiotic, naive, worthless piece of trash. How dare he hurt something that belonged to him. How dare he hurt all of them by doing this.

The rage seeped off of him like waves crashing onto a beach. Blue was going to pay. He was going to feel exactly how Nightmare and his boys felt. He didn’t care if he had to kill his own brother to achieve the feeling.

Blue was going to _pay._

Mind made up, Nightmare got up to open a portal to UnderSwap.

“Don’t do it, Night.” Nightmare hissed.

 **“What do you want me to do? Just let that little freak get away with hurting one of my-”** He cut himself off. He could think of them as his boys privately, but not in front of anyone. No one could know how weak he had become.

“Your what Nightmare? Why do you constantly deny what they mean to you?” Nightmare refused to turn around to look at the person behind him.

 **“This is none of your business, Error. I am going to make Blue,”** He spat the name out as if it fouled his mouth. **“pay for what he has done.”** Error sighed.

“And if you get hurt?” Nightmare snorted.

 **“Not likely. I am a God while that berry is nothing more than a copy of a Sans. I am more than capable of dealing with him.”** Error hummed.

 **“** So what’s the difference between Dust and Blue? Or all of the other members of your gang? Aren’t they all just copies of a Sans?” Nightmare finally turned around to glare at Error.

 **“Don’** **t you dare try and pull some psychological bullshit on me Error-”**

“What’s the difference Nightmare.” Nightmare said nothing and continued glaring. Error hummed. “That’s what I thought. They’re different because they’re yours. You care. Don’t try and deny it, if you didn’t you would have let Dust dust.”

 **“** **Error-”**

“And you know what? They care about you too. If you go off now, you’ll leave them alone and scared. They need you here, Nightmare. Don’t go off in a revenge spree until you all can appreciate it.” Nightmare growled, fighting a mental war. He- he didn’t know how to comfort people. If he stayed, he was worried that his (rather upset) aura would press more negativity than his boys could stand into their souls. He didn’t want- he couldn’t lose them too.

 **“** **Error,”** He began. Error raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. Glaring, Nightmare continued. **“My aura is far too violent to be around them right now. It wouldn’t be safe for them. I can’t stay here.”** Error looked at him.

“Have you tried this thing called ‘calming down’? ”

**“Error, one day I’m to find a way to make you mute.”**

“Nightmare, they need you- ”

 **“And how do you propose I help them?!”** Nightmare snapped. **“I haven’t done this sort of thing for over 500 hundred years! I-I can’t help them. Last time...”** Nightmare trailed off and looked into the distance. Error’s gaze became sympathetic.

“They aren’t Dream, Night.” Nightmare shook his head.

**“I can’t-”**

“They’ve been hurt too, Night. That’s how you know that they won’t hurt you. They know how it feels to be betrayed by one they thought they could trust, by one who loved them. They won’t hurt you.” Nightmare began to shake.

 **“I CAN’T!”** Error seemed shocked at Nightmare’s outburst. **“I can’t.”** Nightmare whispered before running into a portal of a random AU.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Error blinked. He had been expecting pushback, yes. Nightmare was a weird bastard; for an empath, he sure hated showing his emotions. But what he had seen in Nightmare’s eye wasn’t anger or stubbornness or even petulance. It was fear. Genuine fear. That was extremely worrisome. So on a hunch, he decided to do some research, just to see what would pop up. What he read almost made him want to destroy a few hundred AU’s. Of course the Apple Incident would leave marks less noticeable than Nightmare’s corrupted form.

‘ _Psychoanalysts agree that one possible risk factor for developing_ _this condition_ _[...]’_

 _‘_ _Childhood trauma relating_ _to_ _relationships with their mother […]’_

_‘There is a special case for twins, as they are closer than normal siblings [...]’_

_‘_ _Philophobia, the fear of love.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh im sure he'll be fine. mmmmmMMmmmm yessss this turned out better than I thought it would. Comments are loved and appreciated!
> 
> ALSO: PLEASE do not take "philiphobia" thing that seriously! I am not a specialist, so I could be very wrong with everything I write about it! If I offend you by writing about it, I am sorry


	3. Nightmare, Listen To Me Dammit!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare can't seem to catch a break!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cough* 
> 
> so.
> 
> uh.
> 
> Schedules and me don't seem to mix well, huh? 
> 
> ANnnnNNNyywho, comments are adored, cherished, and appreciated! Kudos too! Love yall!

CHAPTER 3: Nightmare, Listen To Me, Dammit!

OuterTales’s stars shone as brightly and as beautiful as ever. Nightmare remembered when he first brought Dust. The look of astonishment and awe had secretly made Nightmare’s week. Now, as he looked up at the stars, he felt as if he was being reminded that Dust might never awaken to see the beautiful sight once more. Letting his skull fall to his knees, Nightmare let out a small sob. How could he have failed Dust so badly?

 **“** **Goddammit.”** Nightmare huffed, angrily wiping away the tears that had started to stream down his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dream looked up absently with worry. OuterTale didn’t normally have such large amounts of Negativity surrounding it. When the negativity only increased as time wore on, Dream rushed to get Ink and Blue.

 _“Guys! I think Nightmare is attacking OuterTale!”_ Blue frowned.

“THAT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE! OUTERTALE IS NEUTRAL!” Ink rolled his eyelights.

 _“_ This is Nightmare we’re talking about here. I doubt he honestly cares. Come on, let’s go save the stars. _”_ Blue sighed.

“DO YOU REALLY THINK I SHOULD GO? HE SEEMED VERY ANGRY LAST TIME.” Dream smiled.

 _“He_ _never_ _like_ _s_ _it when his plans are disturbed. Come on, lets go before it gets worse.”_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Nightmare heard the portal open, he expected to see Error, so he didn’t bother to turn around.

 **“Please Error. Just leave me alone. I can’t face them now. I know you think they need me, but I failed him! How can I-”** Nightmare felt his voice break as more tears cascaded down his cheeks.

**“Please. Just leave me alone.”**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Dream blinked and looked over at his friends to make sure he had heard right. They all looked as shocked as him. There was obviously no attack; the cause of the negativity being Nightmare’s own… guilt? That certainly was an emotion that he never expected to feel from Nightmare. Maybe they should leave, something had happened and-

_“_ Wait, Error comes here? That’s awesome! Maybe I can finally-!” Dream felt time slow down as Nightmare slowly turned toward them.

 _“Ink,”_ Dream whispered. _“you are an idiot.”_ Ink giggled nervously.

“Oops?” Dream slowly backed up.

 _“I’ve never felt him like this before. It’s almost as if he’s been holding back during our fights. His anger...”_ Dream shuddered. _“We need to leave. Now.”_ Ink nodded and opened a portal. Nightmare seemed to snap out of his staring contest with Blue at that exact moment, snapping a tentacle out to wrap around Ink’s axis. Ink gasped, choking for air.

 **“You have made a mistake. If you think I will let you leave after what you’ve done,”** He squeezed harder. The bones creaked. **“you are gravely mistaken.”**

 _“Brother! Let him go!”_ Dream notched an arrow, but before he could fire, a sharpened tentacle sliced through his tibia and made him cry out with pain. The tentacle lodged itself in the bone and pulsed, sending waves and waves of pain. Another tentacle slithered its way over to Blue, but it caused no pain. It simply held him there very firmly, thus rendering him helpless to aid his friends. Nightmare flexed the tentacles around Dream and Ink, making both of them groan in pain.

 **“How does it feel, little berry?”** Nightmare whispered, his eyelight glowing with malice. **“It must torture you to know that you can’t do anything for your friends.”** Blue was horrified.

“PLEASE NIGHTMARE! RELEASE THEM!” Nightmare cocked his head.

 **“Why should I?”** Blue stared at him.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT? PLEASE, JUST STOP IT! WHATEVER POINT YOU’RE TRYING TO MAKE-” The tentacle around Ink squeezed harshly.

 **“Point?”** Nightmare hissed, bringing his face just inches away from Blue’s. **“** **Do you not see any correlation to your past actions and my current actions?”** Blue blinked.

“I- NO? THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU WAS DURING THE LAST BATTLE! AND NOTHING SIGNIFICANT HAPPENED THERE!” Nightmare just about lost all semblance of self control.

 **“Nothing significant?”** He whispered. Dream weakly struggled against the tentacle holding him, but the increased negativity coming from Nightmare was overwhelming. **“** **What about the person you almost killed? Are they nothing?”** He quietly said, anger flashing in his eye. He moved forward, pressing his hand to Blue’s cheek. **“Well?”** Blue whimpered.

“I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT, NIGHTMARE.” Nightmare hissed.

 **“Of course you don’t. I should kill you and your disgusting friends right here, right now.”** The tentacles holding all three of them squeezed sending more pain to Dream and Ink, and causing Blue to wince at the pressure around him. Nightmare turned around. **“Why can’t I do it?”** He looked down, tears cascading down his cheeks once more. **“Why can’t I get rid of you? Why can’t I protect them?”** Dream wheezed.

 _“Brother… Whatever causes you pain, let me help you. I can help you! Just let us go!”_ In response, the tentacles tightened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dream seriously did not expect this when they had all teleported to OuterTale. Nightmare was alone and crying. And judging by what he said to Blue, someone he cared about (Nightmare! Caring about someone! Maybe he really could bring his brother back!) was hurt and near death. He tried to reason with Nightmare, after all, Dream was the best goddamn healer in the entire multiverse, but no. Nightmare was still being as stubborn as ever. Maybe, if they figured out who was hurt, they could guilt trip him into letting them go. He coughed.

 _“Night, think about this. Do you really think that whoever is hurt would want you to do this?”_ Nightmare ignored him. _“Please Night. Think about them. They probably care about you. Shouldn’t you be with them rather than being here, spreading negativity in this innocent AU?”_ Nightmare finally turned around to look at him. The look Dream was getting was not promising.

 **“I really think he would be overjoyed if he saw what I was doing.”** Nightmare reached over and roughly grabbed Dream by the chin. Another tentacle lazily weaved its way down to his injury. And then it s q u e e z e d. Dream howled in pain and writhed in his bonds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Nightmare!” Nightmare slowly turned around. Error stood behind him, his hands held up in the air and he looked..scared? Nightmare looked at Error in confusion. Why was he scared? Nightmare would never hurt him. ~~Just like he would never hurt Dream. Why was Dream looking at him like that? Why were they all looking at him like that?~~ Gasping, Nightmare dropped the prisoners of his tentacles. Error smiled, looking relived.

“Thank you, Night. Come on. Let’s go home.” Nightmare felt his tentacles rear behind him. Stupid dumbass conscience getting in his way of his revenge.

 **“No,”** He spat. **“I’m not leaving until I’ve made them pay for what they did.”** Error studied him.

“I found something that is far more important than revenge, Night. I think it’s important you hear this.” Nightmare hissed. Error looked at him rather unimpressed. Nightmare deflated and sighed.

 **“Fine.”** He grumbled and opened a portal to his AU. He turned his head back to glare at the Star Sanses. **“This isn’t over.”** Error hurried him through the portal. I Once in his office, Nightmare raised an eyebrow at Error.

**“What was so damn important that-”**

“I think you have Philiphobia. **”** Nightmare blinked.

**“What?”**

“It all makes sense! Even though you’re an empath, you refuse to acknowledge you feelings, so at first I thought you were just being stubborn! But then, before you went to OuterTale, I saw the honest to god fear in your eye when you talked about loving your gang and vise versa. A traumatic experience with a loved one can- ”

 **“I am going to stop you right there.”** Nightmare said. His voice was quiet and dangerous. He turned around so all the other could see was his back. Error’s words died in his throat as Nightmare’s aura filled the room with a darkness he could feel.

 **“I am not having this discussion with you again. Drop it.”** Error stared at him.

“ Night, this isn’t something that will just disappear. You need to talk about it. ”

**“No, I really don’t. Drop it.”**

“ Nightmare- ”

**“No!”**

“Listen to me, dammit! This isn’t jut about you! Your actions have consequences for those around you!” Nightmare looked over his shoulder, his bright. “You’re hurting them by doing this,” Error finished, his voice barely a whisper. Nightmare’s shoulder slumped.

**“Fine. I’ll… think about it.”**


	4. Wow, What A Weird Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare gets kinda desperate to wake Dust up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am late. Again. Damn, I would love to post on time for once. Sorry for the late post! >->

Months passed. Dust had still not woken up. Nightmare was getting more and more recluse. He stood inside Dust’s room, watching him sleep peacefully. Nightmare felt a sudden rush of anger. He desperately wanted to hurt Blue for what he did. Snarling to himself, Nightmare went over a mental list of what deities were out for him. Fate, of course, was number one. Bitch. Luck, who loved to make him suffer. Prick. Passion, who thought that he was incapable of feeling emotions. Idiot. Destiny, well, she seemed to like Error, but hated his guts. None of them would be willing to help Nightmare get his revenge, or even help Dust. Time… Nightmare didn’t know enough about her. That left Dream, Ink, and Error to save Dust. Nightmare wouldn’t let Ink within a mile of his gang or Error. Error didn’t know jack shit about healing. Dream… Dream was dangerous. He would want something. Nightmare glanced down to the unconscious Dust. He didn’t really have a choice, did he?

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


_**Brother. I need your help. Please.** _

Dream almost fell out of the chair he was sitting in when he heard that voice in his head. It had been so long since Nightmare had talked to him via their telepathic connection, and he knew that Nightmare must be desperate if he was talking to him so directly, so personally. And who was he to turn away what possible chances of reconciliation that this presented?

  
  


_Of course, brother. What do you need?_ Dream could feel Nightmare’s fear.

  
  


_**A friend. He got seriously hurt, and has been in a coma for months. I’ve tried everything, but he just won’t-**_ The connection abruptly cut off. Dream waited patiently for Nightmare to get his emotions under control. Soon enough Nightmare finished his sentence.

  
  


_**He just won’t wake up. Can you wake him up?**_ Dream hummed thoughtfully.

  
  


_Well, what was the injury?_ A rush of anger.

  
  


_**He got shards of bone in his soul.**_ Dream blinked.

  
  


_How did that happen?_

  
  


_**Why the hell do you care?! Can you wake him up or not?!**_ Dream winced.

  
  


_I can. But you’re going to need to bring me to him._

  
  


_**Fine.**_ The connection cut off once more. Dream waited a few seconds before jumping up with unrestrained glee. He had a chance! He had a chance to fix everything wrong with his relationship with his brother! His soul soaring, Dream ran off to find Ink and Blue to tell them the good news.

  
  


“ **So I’m going to need you guys not to freak out when I tell you what I did.”** Nightmare’s statement was met with a lot of confused blinking. Deciding to just bite the bullet, he revealed what he did earlier that day.

“You did WHAT?!” Horror snapped. Nightmare winced.

“ **You heard me.”**

“But why?! For all we know, he could just kill Dust instead of healing him!”

“ **Dream would not do that. Blue, maybe. But not Dream. Besides… I know he would not pass an opportunity like this up.”**

“The hell do you mean, _opportunity_?” Error hissed.

 **“He means that Dream has been waiting for years for something like this to happen. Waiting for Nightmare to need his help. Waiting for the chance to sink his claws into Nightmare and never let go.”** Horror stared at Error.

“More of an explanation please?” Error sighed and rubbed at his temples.

“Dream has always wanted Nightmare to ‘come back’ to him in a sense. He has a lick of intelligence, so he hasn’t ever asked outright. But a chance where Nightmare needs his healing abilities… Dream’s aura is so powerful, and because Nightmare is a being of negativity, if Nightmare isn’t careful, Dream could force Nightmare to be dependent on him for happiness, or any sort of positive emotion.” Cross shattered the cup he was holding.

“If there’s a chance that Dream can control Nightmare, then we can’t let him near the Boss. That would be bad for everyone, including the multiverse.” Everyone looked at him in slight confusion.

“How do you figure that?” Killer asked.

“Think about it. If you take away Nightmare’s positive feelings, what’s left is a whole lot of negative ones. Can you imagine what would happen if someone as powerful as Nightmare was emotionless in terms of positivity, and only felt anger and such? The Multiverse would be in serious trouble.” Silence reigned in the room after Cross finished his explanation.

“That… Would be really bad.”

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


“ _The person you want me to heal is Dust?”_ Nightmare glared at Dream.

“ **Is that a problem?”**

“ _No! It’s just… I don’t remember him getting that hurt… when did this happen?”_ Nightmare hissed, and negativity rolled off him in waves,

“ **I swear, you Star Sanes are all the same. Just wake him up, I didn’t ask you here to ask questions.”** Dream sighed and placed his hands on Dust’s skull. Green magic flowed between the two. Nightmare, his gang, and Error watched in tense anticipation.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Dust slowly blinked his eyes open to see Dream staring down at him with an expression of extreme focus. Yelping, Dust tried to summon an attack, but found that his magic refused to form. Fully freaking out, he headbutted Dream with all the strength he could muster and promptly fell unconscious again.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~

  
  


“ _Ow! Fuck!”_ Dream held his skull between his hands. Nightmare looked at him unimpressed.

“ **I as** **k** **ed you to wake him up, and you manage to knock him out again. I should have expected this from you.”**

“ _He’s the one that headbutted me!”_

“ **Because you didn't think ahead and wonder what would happen if he woke up and saw one of his most powerful enemies looking down at him!”**

“ _Well, at least I woke him up! Waiting for a thank you!”_

“ **Yes, thank you for maybe knocking him into a coma again!”**

“ _Would you rather I kill him?!”_ Nightmare went rigid. Behind him, Error and his gang got ready for a fight. Dream seemed to realize what he said.

“ _Night- I - I didn’t mean-”_

“ **No worries,”** Nightmare spat out. “ **Your friend already took care of that. But I’m sure you can’t remember that can you? Don’t remember Blue’s hammer smashing through Dust’s bones as if they were legos, don’t remember the fear radiating off of him like he was a heater, don’t remember the anger that they,”** Nightmare slowly advanced as he spoke. He gestured to his gang behind him. “ **That they felt as they watched their friend, their brother, almost die. Of course you wouldn’t. Get out of my sight Dream, before I decide to end your disgusting existence now.”** Gathering Dust into his arms, Nightmare left without looking behind him. 

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


“ _....That’s what he said! Weren’t we recording? Can you find the tape for me? Thank you, I owe you Blue!”_

  
  


_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

  
  
  
  


“Heya, Ruru! You look really upset!”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmmm. Yes. I have a LOT planned for Ink and Error. Blue and Dream though.... hm. Keep an eye on them, I would. 
> 
> Comments are loved! Kudos are adored! Love Y'all!


	5. Vote! Decide! Tell Me What To DO!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I need you all to tell me something!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive meeeeeee 
> 
> Don't worry, a chapter will be coming out soon, but I need to know a few things first. So. TELL ME

Alright, so I need to know If I should have ship children in this. If you want ship children, choose please! If you don't, please let me know! Ship children will make this fic WAY longer than I planned but like. I like babies. So. Up to you! You can vote more than once, just give me like your top three you want in the fic.

\- Crescent (Killer x Nightmare

\- Incubux (Cross x Night)

\- Noah (Cross x Night)

\- Dark Moon (nightmare x Killer)

\- Nightshade (Cross x Nightmare)

\- Samuel (Nightmare x killer)

\- Scourge (Shes a girl!) (Nightmare x Killer)

\- Paperjam/PJ (Error x Ink)

\- Gradient (Error x Ink)

\- uhhhh if I miss any of your favs please don't kill me

And uh. I'll see how many votes i get in a week I guess! Tell me!


	6. ... You Guys Get To Vote On Who's The Mom!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More voting! yay!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how even though I said I don't know how to write poly, its the most requested things here.... *sigh* oh well. Ask and ye shall receive I guess.

Alright my lovlies! So! A lot of you have voted, (don't worry, it's still open, so VOTE!) but it has come to my attention, (thank you kind commenter, I wouldn't have thought of this) that some of you may want to vote on who is going to carry the child. So. Here you all go. ALSO! A new chapter will be posted soon, so don't worry about that, it was written before the voting started.

Vote who you want the mother to be in each ship!

Killer x Nightmare

Cross x Nightmare

Ink x Error

*sigh*

Nightmare x Cross x Killer. <\--- Don't make me regret this. If I do end up writing it, it will be my first time! No hating! If you have critique/advice, I will devour that. If you just wanna be mean, don't. 


	7. The Results!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Everyone gets to see what ships will be in here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM ON TIME. HOLY CRAP

Alllright! Everyone who voted, thank you! I'm sorry if your ship or shipchild did not make it, but I am going to be putting down the number of times everyone voted!

KIDS:

Crescent: 13

Incubx: 7

Noah: 4

PJ: 10

Scourge: 7

Nightshade: 3

Gradient: 9

No kids: 2

Samuel: 2

MOMS:

Nightmare: 15

Error: 13

Killer: 2

Cross:2

Ink: 6

Yeah. Those were the results! So it looks like I have to write Poly now. Hooray. *sigh* I hate ties. ANYWAY! Next chapter will be coming out tomorrow, and I have to go figure out how to write poly! *yay* Jesus Christ though, three kids? Night's gonna be screwed. hehe. In more ways than one. pfft- what am I saying- I can't write smut. unless someone writes it for me.... hm. I'll keep that in mind.


	8. Well, Well, Well. Look at what I learned.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Dream gets some ideas. Ink acts... like Ink. And Nightmare is still as stubborn as ever!

When Ink found out that Error hung out in OuterTale, he made sure to take a lot of yellow to feel overjoyed. He could finally, maybe, possibly, talk to Error without risking his life! Error was so interesting. Sure he destroyed his creations, but the dolls he made were so cool! Ink really wanted a doll of himself, but he supposed that was a little selfish. But if he ever did get a doll from the destroyer, he would be so happy! So he started to stake out in OuterTale. He waited, and after only a few hours, Error came! Ink had to put a hand over his mouth because, _wow_. Error looked... How had he not noticed before?! Error was hot! Look at that confidence! Look at that power! Look at that _ass_! Wow! A thought popped up in Ink’s head about having that power under him, begging for him- _absolutely not Ink!_ Ink mentally chided himself. _Focus! You want to be his- holy shit. Oh no. Is he...crying?_

  
  


“Heya Ruru! You look really upset!” Ink paid very close attention to how Error went rigid, then seemed to relax.

“Get the fuck out of here, Squid. I’m in no mood for your idiocy.”

“But Ruru-”

“I’ve told you not to call me that!”

“But it’s cute! Like you!” And wow. The blush that scalded Error’s cheekbones was beautiful. It was mesmerizing. Error even had little freckles that looked like stars if you paid close enough attention! Wow, his Ruru was amazing, no matter what Dream or Blue said.

“Don’t call me that! Get out of here! Leave me alone!” Ink cocked his head, almost like a confused puppy.

“But you look sad! What’s wrong?” Error clenched his hands at his sides.

“You and your friends are what’s wrong.” Ink blinked.

“Blue and Dream? What have they done?”

“They almost killed my friend!” Ink’s eyelights cycled through various shapes.

“Oh! Dust! I remember Blue and gave him a huge injury right? Oh no! Did Dust die?!” Error stared at Ink in absolute shock.

“How is it possible that you can remember, with you goldfish memory, but your friends-”

“I mean, I consider them teammates… I don’t think that they really see me as… alive I guess?” Error looked at Ink, who had sat down next to him, like he had grown a second head.

“What do you mean, ‘alive’?”

“Because I can’t feel emotions without my vials, they really put me at risk a lot, they’re always making fun of me, and they in general don’t make me feel that good. Even when I try to take yellow not to feel bad…” Ink frowned and looked down at his vials, fingering them absentmindedly. Error sighed.

“When someone hurts your feelings Squid, you can’t just drown it out with happiness. It’s still there, eating at you like a parasite. But what I don’t understand is that they don’t consider you with-”

“But you always make me feel better Ruru! I don’t even need my paints to feel near you! You’re amazing like that!” Error almost choked on his tongue.

“What?!” Ink smiled radiantly at Error.

“You make me happy, and sad, and angry, all without my paints! You’re incredible, and-”

“I don’t want to hear it squid! Whatever game this is to you, I want no part of it!” Ink seemed actually shocked.

“It’s not a game Ruru. I swear.” Error snorted.

“And what is the word of a Star Sans worth to me?”

“Ru…”

“Forget it Squid. Leave before I decide to make you.”

“Ru, what do I have to do to prove to you that I don’t wanna fight? That I wanna be your friend?” Error snorted.

“Stop fighting with the Star Sanses.” Ink’s eyelights rapidly changed in both color and shape. He seemed to actually be thinking.

“I… don’t think I can do that Ruru. I-” He took a deep breath, almost as if he needed to compose himself. “Is there anything else I can do?” Error peered at him intently.

“No… nothing like that. If you really want to be my friend… you’ll learn the constellations.” Ink’s eyelights turned into stars.

“Really?! Okay! I’ll learn the stars Ruru! I promise!” Ink jumped to his feet and swung Broomy off his back to create a portal.

“Bye Ruru! I’ll see you soon!” And he dashed off, muttering to himself about star guides. Error couldn’t help the blush that dusted his cheeks as he watched the artist excitedly run off before he himself left to return to Nightmare's castle.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~

  
  


“ _Hm. I know we were recording Blue!”_

“YES, YES, I KNOW. GIVE ME A SECOND TO FIND IT! WE FILM THEM A LOT YOU KNOW!” Dream sighed.

“ _I’m sorry, but this could be it! If I can find what truly made Nightmare distraught! Dust was injured, and it had to have been during our last battle!”_

“A HA! I FOUND IT!” Blue triumphantly pulled up a clip of video and put it onto the computer. “DO YOU WANT ME TO PLAY IT?” Dream nodded.

“ _Yes.”_

The clip began to play. The two watched as Dream talked to Nightmare about the clip. Then in interest, they watched as Blue hit Dust in the middle of the chest. Dream turned to Blue with a grin.

“ _Nice hit.”_ Blue grinned back.

“THANK YOU!” They looked back at the screen as a look of horror washed over Nightmare’s face. Dream’s grin grew wider.

“ _Thank you Blue. I think I’ve found everything I need.”_

  
  


~~~~~~~~~

They all crowded around Dust as they waited for him to wake up. And he did. Slowly, yes, but he still did.

“Nightmare?” Nightmare smiled ever so gently as he caressed Dust’s skull.

“ **Yes,”** A tear slipped down Nightmare’s cheek. “ **It’s me. You’re safe. You’re okay.”** Dust sighed and nuzzled the hand on his cheek.

“I was so scared Night… I woke up and saw Dream… but every other time I woke up… the first time I saw your worried face… The second time it was to your tears… but when I saw Dream… I wondered what he had done to you...” Nightmare had to choke back a sob.

“ **Dust… It takes a lot to kill or hurt me. You need to focus on yourself and healing. Don’t worry about me.”** Dust wheezed slightly.

“Boss… how can I not worry about you... ? You mean everything to me… to us…” Dust coughed weakly. “We need you… Boss don’t leave us, please, don’t leave us, Boss we need you-” Dust clenched Nightmare’s sleeve and looked up at him with tear filled sockets. Nightmare could feel the weight of Error’s stare on him. Nightmare broke.

“ **I’m not going to go Dust. I’m never going to leave you. Any of you.”** Nightmare made eye contact with Error as he spoke. Error silently nodded. The rest of the gang sprouted tears as Nightmare spoke.

“Boss...“ Cross softly whispered. Killer gently rubbed his back, trying to keep his own tears in. Nightmare kept his eye on the ground. The tears slipped off of Nightmare’s cheeks. The gang couldn’t hold back. They surged around Nightmare, and wrapped their arms around him.

“We love you too boss,” Killer whispered. Killer’s hand snuck between Nightmare’s shoulders and rubbed soothingly. Nightmare was fully shocked and didn’t move. When his brain finally caught up with the fact that he was being hugged, he almost stabbed them all with his tentacles. Managing to clamp down on that rather ~~disturbing~~ odd instinct, Nightmare gently disengaged himself from the group hug. He ignored Error’s glare and silently left the room.

  
  



	9. I Have A Plan, I’m Not Evil, And Wow! You Are Really Beautiful!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AND THEY STARGAZE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late... For all you non americans, yall are lucky bastards. I just wanna know who's gonna be the cause of protests already!!

_ “We need to kidnap Nightmare’s gang.” _ Ink almost spat out the tea he had just drank while Blue just seemed thoughtful.

“Uh. Why?” Ink asked. Dream eye’s gleamed.

_ “It shocks me to say it, but Nightmare cares about them. If we can kidnap them, and either make it look as if they left willingly, or…” _

“OR…? GO ON DREAM, DON’T LEAVE ME IN SUSPENSE!” Dream hummed thoughtfully.

_ “I want to find a way to get Nightmare to come to me willingly. I know I make him need me, and then make him good again, but to do that.... Yes. We kidnap them. Make it look as if they deserted. Then, I’ll attack, one on one, ask where his gang is, and be sympathetic to the fact that he’s alone. Then I’ll tell him that I would never have left him, and that I would still be there for him-” _

“WAIT DREAM,” Blue interrupted. “WHAT ABOUT ERROR?” Now Ink was really paying attention. He really had been studying about the constellations. His Ruru would be so proud.

Dream sighed.

_ “We’ll have to take care of him… Ink blotch, could you take care of the glitch?”  _ Ink was quiet. After a while he spoke.

“Yeah,” He said quietly. “I can take care of him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ink didn’t know what to think. Actually, he did, but he didn't know how to express it. What Dream was proposing was downright evil. Ink sighed. What they wanted to do to Nightmare and his gang… and Error. Eyelights flashing to a red pentagon and a blue crosshair, Ink made up his mind about what he was going to do. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Error decided to ignore the confused look that Nightmare sent him when he left to go to Outertale. Even though he refused to admit it, Nightmare could most likely sense his nervousness and wanted to know what the heck had the great Destroyer nervous. And not just any type of nervousness. Excited, flustered, happy, nervous. Whatever. If Nightmare was blind to the pinning of the idiots that resided in the gang, then he would remain in the dark about the cause of Error’s feelings. 

Wait scratch that. Error didn’t have feelings! Not for the squid… who was already in Outertale, with a constellation book clenched tightly to his chest and with pink souls in his eyes.

Fuck.

“Ruru! So I studied the constellations, but they’re so hard to remember and I was busy with Dream and Blue-” Error watched with a kind of shock as Ink’s eyelights all of a sudden turned to a blue teardrop and red square. 

“Is something wrong Squid?” Ink flinched.

“No. I just… have something on my mind.”

~~~~~~~~

Ok, so Ink didn’t immediately tell Error. But he had a reason! If Error knew, he would tell Nightmare! And then Nightmare would completely try and avoid the plan! So what Ink was going to do would be simple. He would wait for Dream and Blue to finish hammering out the details, and  _ then  _ he would tell Error. It would all work out! For now, he just wanted to enjoy his time with his lovely kitten. He had studied the constellations for a reason, damn it, and he wasn’t going to let Dream or Blue ruin that! And! His kitten was cute and worried about him! That meant that Error cared about him. Stars… imagine Error caring about him in front of others. Ink was pulled from his day dreaming when he noticed Error staring at him with immense confusion. Pulling himself together, Ink flashed a blinding smile at Error.

“Really Ruru. It’s nothing. I’ll tell you later, I promise!” Error seemed satisfied by this and sat down on the soft grass. He turned to Ink with a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed look on his face.

“Well squid? Tell me what you know.” Ink almost froze. How did he know about the- oh wait. Error kept on glancing between the stars and him. Right! The constellations! Making an embarrassed cough, Ink quickly pointed to a cluster of stars. 

“Those are the Pleiades, or sometimes called the Seven Sisters! And that’s the Big Dipper, and there’s Orion’s Belt! I can’t find Cassiopeia... “ Ink looked slightly put off. He almost had a heart attack when he felt a warm, very hesitant, hand touch his. 

“I-it’s there.” Error guided his hand and pointed to the stars shining bright in the sky. “That’s Cassiopeia.” Ink did not care about the stars. Error was touching him. Error was holding his  _ hand _ ! Holy fucking shit! Ink felt his namesake begin to churn in his stomach. Oh no- please not now, don’t ruin this for him- too late. Ink felt it coming out of his throat and wrenched his hand from Error’s in order to turn away and puke at a safe distance. A blush spread across his cheeks once more, Ink looked at Error with pure adoration. 

“Ruru! You touched me! You held my hand!” Error muttered something under his breath while a yellow blush settled on his cheeks.

“Yes. Well. How else was I supposed to show you where the stars were?” Ink decided not to answer that. Instead he gave Error a genuine smile, full of care.

“Thank you Ruru! So much! I know how hard it must have been for you! Thank you!” Ink felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He looked down at it and frowned. That… was not good. Hesitating, Ink looked between Error’s semi concerned expression to the message on his screen.

“Error..” He began. Mind made up, his eyelights turned into a yellow clover and a teal circle. “Promise me you’ll tell Nightmare and his gang to be careful. Dream… he wants to use Nightmare’s affections for his gang against him. Tell him that. Tell him to be careful. Please. Don’t let them hurt you Ru. Promise me?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Error almost crashed. Ink… what the hell was he even saying? Was Ink seriously trying to protect the gang? Nightmare?  _ Him? _

“I- sure Squid. Are you going to give me any more details?” Ink smiled sadly at him.

“I can’t. I’m sorry Error. I really want you to be my friend and trust me but… betraying the people I’ve been working with for centuries…. _ Caring  _ for, for centuries… It’s hard enough as it is, you know?” Error stared blankly at him. Betrayal? Holy  _ shit _ .

“I- Yeah sure. I won’t push. For now.” Ink gave him another sad smile.

“Thanks Ru.” Error stared at him a little more, and then to Ink’s obvious relief, dropped it. 

“Do you know any more constellations, Squid? Or do I need to teach you-” 

“You should absolutely teach me more. Yes. Absolutely.” Ink’s eyelights were a bright yellow star and a pink soul. God  _ dammit _ ! Why did he have to be so fricken  _ cute _ ?! Fighting the blush forming on his cheeks, Error once again took Ink’s hand and showed him more shapes in the sky.

“That’s the little dipper and- what are you pointing to?” Ink flashed him a blinding smile.

“You don’t recognize them? They’re my favorite constellation.” Error blinked owlishly at Ink.

“No… what are they called?”

“They’re called the scalding blush.”

“The what?”

“Named after you! Beautiful, huh? They look like the freckles that show up whenever you blush! It’s amazing!” He smiled dreamily. Error hissed in embarrassment.

“I do not- I don’t have- Shut up idiot!” Ink giggled.

“See?” He pointed a finger at Error’s cheeks. “ _ Beautiful,” _ He breathed. Error couldn’t take it. He flushed once more and opened a portal and left before he could crash.

~~~~~~~~~

Ink happily smiled at the spot where Error had been sitting next to him. However, his mood soured when Dream opened a portal and walked through. He tried not to let the other see it though, and greeted Dream with a smile.

“Hey Dream! What brings you here?” Dream gave Ink a calculating look.

_ “How odd,” _ The guardian almost purred.  _ “I do believe I’m sensing some real emotions from you, Ink. Care to explain? _ ” Ink’s smile grew strained.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about! I drank a bit more yellow than usual if that’s what you mean…” Dream cocked his head. A smile grew on his face, but it was not the warm smile that usually graced his features. This smile was far more… sinister. 

_ “No, it feels nothing like that. It feels more genuine, more substantial. Hm. I’ll keep an eye on it. After all, we don’t want anything to be wrong with you, do we?”  _ Dream paused as if considering something.  _ “I mean, more than there already is.”  _ Ink winced.

“No…” He mumbled. Dream hummed.

_ “Good. You will tell me if you feel emotions outside of your paints. Do you understand?”  _ Ink was silent.

_ “I said,” _ Dream snapped harshly, and grabbed Ink’s chin _. “Do you understand?” _

“Yes.” Dream smiled and released his bruising hold on the other guardian.

_ “Good boy.”  _


	10. A/N

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some very important announcements!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry your amazing, beautiful heads, A chapter is on its way!

WOO! Another fake chapter! I'm soooo sorry to people who thought I would be a decent human being and post a chapter but um. I live in America. And, to those who don't know, we just had a really close race/election. Like super close. And the fact that my current president is refusing to give up power really scares me. I just want my country to be whole again, to be united once more, but I don't think either President (current and just elected) can do that. I'm just really anxious in general, so if updates are slow, THATS WHY! 

Sorry for all you amazing non Americans, but just had to get that off my chest. 

ONTO LIGHTER MATTERS!!

I have a lot of ideas swirling in my head for this Fic. However, I just got a WILD idea, (and I mean wild!) But I can't share it with anyone because DM'ing is non existent on AO3. However, I've been considering sharing my Discord so that people can give me their ideas and I can share a few of mine. (Without spoiling it for the rest of people!) If you think I should do this, please tell me, and I'll share my discord. If you think I'm crazy and don't think I should, please tell me! Thank you! <3


	11. Another A/N Because I'm an idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discord! Woo! yay!

SO! Uhm. You guys told me to make a discord server! And I did! And then I realized: I have zero idea how to run a discord server! So. Uh. If anyone wants to help me out that would be seriously appreciated... Drop your discord username and # and I'll DM you asking for help

Yeah this is stupid but whatever-


	12. Give the boy a break!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uhm. I guess we take a look at the mental state of our favorite twins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE GOT THE DISCORD SERVER UP AND RUNNING! Thank you SO MUCH to JustARandomPuddle for helping me set everything up!!
> 
> also. the FACT that I had an entire plot line for this story get completely destroyed because my stories never go the way I want them to. Like. Bruh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The discord server is up! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Puddlez, I seriously appreciate it!!

Here is the link: <https://discord.gg/VJXHBDBedn>

Make sure that you introduce yourself in the "introduction" channel!

When Error returned to the castle, he expected Nightmare to invade his personal space and hound him with questions. However, he managed to walk all the way to his room without getting assaulted by Nightmare’s tentacles. Even though he felt that it was weird, he didn’t think anything was wrong. After all, maybe Nightmare had finally realized he couldn’t micromanage everything his gang and friends did in their free time. But then Error stopped. He thought he heard- straining his ears, Error waited. Then he heard it again. It sounded like someone was crying, but the only person in the castle was Nightmare… _Shit._ His soul clenching, Error raced to Nightmare’s office where he saw the god rocking back and forth on his knees. His skull was in his hands and he wailed. 

“Night-” Error began, softly. One of Nightmare’s tentacles lashed out, pinning him to the wall rather painfully.

 **“Stay away from me!”** Nightmare hissed. Error wheezed in pain. Nightmare was looking at him as if he was an entirely different person. Error’s eyes widened. _Panic Attack. Flash back. Both? Fuck!_

“I-I won’t touch you Night. I promise. I won’t touch you. I promise Night. I won’t touch you. Can you please let me go?” Nightmare looked at Error.

 **“Don’t touch me.”** The god said again, but he let Error go. Groaning, Error rubbed where Nightmare had held him.

“I'm-I’m not going to touch you Night. I made a promise right? I told you I wasn’t going to touch you.” Error gently soothed Nightmare. Nightmare seemed to curl up on himself as he was taken away to a time long past.

_~~~~~~~~~_

_“Monster!” “Villain!” “Murderer!” “Freak!”_

_The insults were thrown at him with such venom, Nightmare was surprised that they weren’t steaming and green as they came out of the villager’s mouths. He ran as fast as he could, but he knew he could not escape the angry mob growing in number behind him._

_“Please,” He began. But they cut him off, not once did they let him finish his plea. They caught him. They tied him up. And slowly, one stepped forward and placed their hand on his cheek. They stroked it, gently, and smiled down into his frightened purple eyelights._

_“Look at you,” They cooed. “Not so dangerous when you’re all helpless, hm?”_

_“Please,” Nightmare whimpered. “I’m not dangerous, I swear. I wouldn’t hurt you, I promise, please just let me go!” They hushed him, gently._

_“It is hard to believe something so dangerous can look so scared,” They mused. They let out a noise that Nightmare couldn’t really identify. “Oh, how I want you. I want you to be mine,” They growled. Nightmare flinched away from the hand on his cheek. Their eyes narrowed. “Oh, but not yet. Oh no. You still have so much to learn.” And then the mob was on him and Nightmare couldn’t do_ _anything_ _but that man… Why did that man remind him of someone?_

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t like Dream to get flashbacks. He found them useless. He had a damn near perfect memory, so whenever he did get flashbacks, they were annoying as hell. However, sometimes… sometimes he could appreciate it. Appreciate seeing his prey so helpless before him. Oh how he relished that. That memory, or the collection of memories, really was something. He treasured them. He remembered when he first started to want his prey.

_It was somewhat of a shock to him, when he saw him. So beautiful. Oh, how he wished for such beauty. Such beauty, such grace, and such innocence. It made Dream shudder. No, he decided. He didn’t want the beauty under him, screaming his name, but he did want them. It wouldn’t be too hard to lure them to him, not hard at all. But he would need them to want him and only him. To need him and only him. And as he watched a villager give his beauty the side eye, a plan began to form in his head._

_“I don’t trust him,” His puppet murmured. The villager he was talking to looked confused._

_“Who?” He made his puppet look around, as if scared someone would overhear them._

_“That guardian. The dark one.”_

_“Nightmare?”_

_“Yes!” His puppet hissed. “What kind of name is that? It sounds evil! He probably is too!” The Villager looked at him._

_“I mean, you do have a point… have you brought this up with the mayor?” His puppet shook his head._

_“No. I’m nowhere near important enough to talk to him.” The villager had a determined gleam to their eyes._

_“Well then, it looks like we’ll have to start talking to people until we get to someone important then, hm?” And through his puppet, Dream grinned._

_“It looks like it.”_

_When they first went after his beauty, it was hard. He saw the fear and betrayal in his beauty’s eye but it was necessary! He longed to hold him in his arms, whisper to him sweet nothings, but he knew he had to stay still, to stay put. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t make all of the bumbling idiots who harmed his beauty pay later on, oh no. He definitely would. But for now, they needed to make his strong willed beauty submissive. And that would take time._

Dream slowly extracted himself from the memory. Oh how he missed his beauty. If anything, he was even more stubborn now. Ah well. It was obvious pain didn’t work the first time, so he would try something a little different now. Oh yes, he was going to get his beauty back. And he was going to make that miserable gang of his beauty pay for trying to take what was rightfully his. Dream allowed himself some time to fantasize about his victory. The way his beauty would look at him, the way his beauty would _want_ him so _badly_ but wouldn’t get him. Oh _yes._ He could not wait for his plan to go into motion. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightmare had finally stopped shaking. He looked up, and through his blurry eye, he saw Error looking at him with concern.

“Night?” The destroyer whispered. “Are you back?” Nightmare groaned and rubbed his temples. He had a headache the size of the entire multiverse.

 **“I’m fine.”** he grumbled. Oh, and his throat hurt. Wonderful.

“That’s bullshit Night. What happened? What triggered your flashback?” Nightmare’s gaze turned piercing.

 **“Nothing,** ” He spat. **“Leave me alone.”** Error glared.

“Don’t try this shit with me, Night. You were having a goddamn panic attack. You attacked me. What the hell happened?!” Nightmare stared at Error in horror.

**“I-I attacked you? Why didn’t you say that earlier?! Are you alright?! Stars above, Error!”**

“I’m fine Night.” Error stared directly into Nightmare’s eye. “What happened?” Nightmare winced.

 **“Nothing specific. I just let my mind wander a bit too far. I didn’t mean to hurt you-”** Nightmare cut himself off with another wince. **“Are you okay?”** Error sighed.

“I said I was fine, Night. If your mind wandering leads to you having panic attacks, then maybe you should-”

 **“Error. How many times are we going to have this argument? It always ends the same way.”** Error glared.

“Until you get it through your thick skull that you need help.” Nightmare huffed and turned away.

 **“If you aren’t hurt and all you have to say is something that I’ve heard way too many times, then leave. I want to be alone.”** Error shook his head and teleported straight to his room. When was Nightmare going to learn that these types of things weren’t going to go away on their own?

~~~~~~~~~~

Dream cocked his head. That was an emotion that he hadn't felt from his beauty in a while. And while the taste of helplessness on his beauty was a delicacy that he would never say no to, Dream was rather curious as to what brought it on. Well, it wasn’t like he could find out at the moment… he would just enjoy the rare treat and keep an even closer eye on his beauty. 


	13. Listen to your Soul, Not your Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream gets more evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cough* please don't kill me. 
> 
> yes, yes, you get another chapter in one day, wow!
> 
> if you wanna make me happy, you'll join the discord :D I just love talking to you guys!

_**Just a warning, this gets kinda explicit near the end....** _

(yes, I know this is short. But really, it's just a bridge for a major chapter coming up)

It was a few weeks after Nightmare’s… incident before another fight with the Star Sanes happened. Ink and Error were fighting, but Nightmare could have sworn he saw Error laugh. The emotions he was getting from the destroyer were also not exactly the emotions one would expect when fighting a hated enemy. Nightmare narrowed his eye. He would have to keep an eye on that it seemed. A tinkle of laughter drew him from his musings about his friend.

 _“You seem so serious and thoughtful today, Night! What’s on your mind?”_ Nightmare snorted.

 **“Why the hell would I tell you anything, Dream?”** Dream sent Nightmare a wink that would have caused the lighter guardian’s idiot followers to bleed out from their noses. 

_“Because I’m your brother. I’ve been telling you for years, Night. I still love you, no matter what you do.”_

**“I honestly do not care.”** Dream gave him a fanged grin.

 _“Oh,”_ He practically purred. _“You can’t fool me Night. I can see how desperately you want someone to love you.”_ Dream somehow managed to get Nightmare pinned face first against a tree. Holding Nightmare’s hands above his head, Dream pressed himself flush against his opposite’s back. 

_“Not only see, I can feel it. You know I can give you your every… desire.”_ Nightmare hissed silently when he heard how Dream whispered the end of his sentence against his skull. He refused to be seduced by Dream disgusting charms! He was done with his idiot brother! Dream chuckled. _“Oh brother. You think that your gang cares for you?”_ He tutted. _“You know they don’t. They see you as a way to get what they want. You know the only person to ever truly love you is me.”_ Nightmare steadfastly ignored his brother. Even when he felt one hand begin to gently caress his bones, he ignored it. Or, at least he tried to. 

_“You can be in denial for now, my beauty. But not forever.”_ And then Nightmare was alone. Nightmare blinked. 

**“... What the actual fuck!”** Slamming his fist against the tree he was held captive against just moments ago, Nightmare gathered his thoughts. **‘Okay. Take deep breaths. He’s just trying to screw with your head. He doesn’t care about you. He… he doesn’t. Not anymore. And! You don’t need him! You don’t! Your boys, that’s all that matters now. Your boys.’** Finishing the mental pep talk, Nightmare began to try and find his way back to where the main fight was. But for some reason, he just couldn’t get what Dream said out of his head. Even rejoining the fight could only put Dream’s words to the back of his head, but no out of it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was later, when he was getting ready for bed, that his brother’s words came back full force. 

_“You think that your gang cares for you?”_

_“I can give you your every… desire.”_

_“ The only person to ever truly love you is me.”_

**“FUCK!”** Nightmare shoved a pillow into his face. Why the _fuck_ was he thinking about that? All his brother had ever done was hurt him and his family! He was not going to fall for whatever plan this was! Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Nightmare settled into what he hoped would be a dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dream grinned triumphantly when he felt the turmoil within his brother. So his beauty couldn’t get his words out of his head, hm? _‘Well,’_ Dream thought to himself. _‘May as well send him a gift.’_ And when Nightmare finally managed to fall asleep, Dream sent the gift his way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightmare was running. He didn’t know where or why, but he was going fast. His tentacles moved ahead of him, getting rid of branches and other debris before they could hit him. It was dark all around him, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a little uneasy. And then all of a sudden he stopped. There was no more darkness. There was light. Gentle, warm, light that made him feel safe. He looked around and saw a bed that looked so soft, so inviting… and he felt so tired. Going over to the bed, he lay down. It was like sleeping on a cloud, and he couldn’t help but feel like he never wanted to get up.

And then, there was a body against his. They traced his bones with a sort of reverence, sending shudders down his spine. 

“Nightmare…” They whispered against his skull. Nightmare tried to turn his head to see who it was, but a warm hand on his skull prevented that.

“Shhh.” They hushed him when he began to protest his inability to see who they were. “Don’t worry Night. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to make you feel like nothing you’ve ever felt before.” 

Suddenly, those hands were tracing his ribs, and Nightmare couldn’t help but think _please_ , and it was almost as if they heard him, because they gently took his soul out of his ribcage and held it in front of them. He couldn’t see their expression, but he could feel their happiness, their love. And then he felt their tongue on his soul and holy _fuck_ he had _never_ felt anything like it in his entire life. Whimpering, he arched his back, begging for something he couldn’t name. He fisted the covers, squirming, but they had one arm wrapped around him and he couldn’t move. He felt rather than heard their chuckle and he tried once more to turn around to see who was behind him. To his surprise, he was able to.

 _Gold Eyelights_...


	14. When you find yourself alone with an angry sociopath, run.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream... is not happy :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good lord. I am so sorry.

(Warning, there is some real violence in the chapter.)

Dream drank down the variety of emotions that his beauty was feeling. Shock, horror, disgust, embarrassment, and to his vast amusement, arousal. Oh, his little beauty was in denial! How cute! Even though Dream wasn’t physically there, he could almost see the way Nightmare’s eye would widen when he saw who was making him feel so good. Smirking, Dream ended the dream that Nightmare was in. Oh, he couldn't wait until he saw Nightmare in battle. The blush that would scald his cheekbones would be gorgeous. Sighing, Dream reclined on the sofa that occupied his room. His plan was so close to fruition, he could almost taste it. His beauty was going to return to where he belonged, and this time, Dream was not going to let him go so easily. Nightmare would stay in his arms forever. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He did  _ not  _ just have a wet dream about his brother. He did  _ NOT _ . Grumbling to himself, Nightmare extracted himself from his bed. He did not have enough coffee to deal with the aftermath of his messed up mental state. Dragging himself to the kitchen, Nightmare noticed someone missing from the inhabitants of the room.

**“Where’s Error? Didn’t he stay the night?”**

~~~~~~~~~~~

Error smiled up at the stars. Waiting for his companion, he thought back to when he hated him. Ink, well. He had been a pain in his ass for so long. But unlike most people, (like Dream and Blue) Ink had been curious. He had asked so many questions. 

Where are you from?

Why do you destroy?

Is someone making you do this?

What do you do for fun?

Will you be my friend?

The squid had been so persistent. And everytime they fought, Error noticed how he held back when fighting one of Nightmare’s gang. Ink knew how much power he had, and was being careful not to permanently harm the gang. It warmed Error’s soul.

“Heya Ruru! Sorry I’m late! Did you wait long?” Error quickly schooled his features into his usual scowl.

“Yes, I did. What took you so long, Squid?” Ink winced and rubbed his arm.

“Ah, Dream wanted a few things… Sorry Ru.” Error raised an eyebrow. 

“And what did Dream want?” Ink winked.

“Aw, Ru. You know I can’t tell you that!” Error slowly shook his head. 

“Something’s happened Squid. What is it? Are… Are you alright?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The look on Error’s face reminded Ink of when he used to return to Dream, covered in unexplained bruises and cuts. Before Dream had changed… before Dream and Blue had changed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ “Ink, it really worries me when this happens. Who are you fighting? Who’s strong enough that they could hurt you?” _

_ “Aw, Dream. Don’t worry about it! I can take care of myself!” _

_ “DREAM HAS A POINT, INK. YOU ARE A GOD! WHO COULD POSSIBLY HURT YOU?” That was when Ink leaned forward excitedly.  _

_ “That’s the thing! I think there’s a new god!” Dream stopped healing Ink and just stared at him. _

_ “What.” _

_ “I mean it makes sense! This guy is really powerful! I haven’t been able to check him, but I’m sure he’s a new god!” _

_ “Ink, why wouldn’t you tell us this?!” Ink simply smiled cheekily. _

_ “Cause I called dibs!” Blue sighed and rubbed at his temples. _

_ “INK- WHAT- DIBS?” Ink’s eyelights sparkled. _

_ “Yep!” Dream, who had resumed healing, sighed exasperatedly. _

_ “Don’t bother Blue. We both know he won’t ever think he’s in the wrong when it comes to things like this.” Giving another sigh, Dream gently swatted Ink’s skull. “I’m done healing you, you goofball. Did you at least figure out his name?” Ink jumped off the counter he had been sitting on cheerfully. _

_ “Nope!”  _

_ “Stars above, Ink!” Ink giggled and danced over to the couch. _

_ “Don’t worry about it! Now! Who's picking out tonight’s movie?” Grumbling, Dream and Blue also made their way over to the couch. _

_ “IT’S MY TURN,” Blue pouted. “AND I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT WHAT I PICK!” _

_ “I swear, Blue, if it’s another Disney movie-”  _

_ “WE’RE GOING TO WATCH BAMBI!” Dream face planted into a pillow while Ink laughed.  _

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~ _

“-uid? Squid!” Ink snapped back to the present. Error was looking at him unimpressed.

“I, uh, sorry. What were you saying, Ru?” Error snorted.

“I think you just proved my point. Something’s going on with the Dream Team. What is it?” Ink smiled. 

“I thought we came here to look at the stars, Ru, not work.” Error looked rather annoyed, but didn’t comment further. He instead turned his attention to the stars above him, and once more began helping Ink memorize where they were. Ink felt a small little fluttery feeling in his chest, but he kept it to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He couldn’t keep it to himself. Error had left Outertale before him again, so he was alone with his thoughts. He felt an empty feeling in his chest, and with a start, he realized what emotion he was feeling. He was lonely. He missed… everyone. Sighing, Ink kicked a pebble. It hit something, or rather someone, with a rather loud “clunk”.

“Oh! Sorry Dream, I didn’t see you there! Are you alright?” Dream said nothing, and simply stared at him. “Dream…?” 

_ “You know,” _ The guardian said, _ “I’ve always wondered why you hold back.”  _ He took a step forward. Ink took one back.

“I- what?” Dream took another step, his eyelights gleaming with an emotion Ink couldn’t describe.

_ “You hold back. I know your power, and every time you fight with Nightmare and his rag-tag crew, you hold back.”  _ Dream cocked his head.  _ “Why?” _ Ink took another step back. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” He whispered. 

_ “Don’t you?”  _ Dream seemed amused. Fast as light, Dream held Ink in his grasp by his suspenders.  _ “You are feeling again. It’s more powerful, more potent. Were you going to tell me?”  _ Ink floundered.

“I- Yes! I was!” Dream’s grip tightened. His eyelights narrowed. His magic ignited, and Ink felt a very unfamiliar sensation against his neck. When the absolute fuck did Dream start fighting with daggers?!

_ “That’s a lie,” _ Dream hissed.  _ “Because your emotions are so real, I can tell when you lie to me. You were never going to tell me! You weren’t going to trust me! Me! Your friend!”  _ The dagger against Ink’s neck dug into him.

“Dream,” Ink wheezed. “Please! You’re hurting me!” Dream released Ink and threw him to the ground. Another dagger formed in Dream’s now free hand. Ink stared up in horror. 

_ “I am going to make you regret ever trying to deceive  _ _ me _ _ , guardian.”  _ A dagger drove through Ink’s right humerus and into the ground, pinning him in place. Ink screamed in pain, his namesake flowing from the wound like water over rocks. Dream simply looked down at him with little emotion. He lowered himself slowly into a straddling position on Ink’s hips.

_ “And you will remember,”  _ Dream cooed,  _ “to never cross me.”  _ A dagger traced patterns of pain across Ink’s other humerus. It slowly slid down to the base of his spine. 

_ “I think I’m going to draw a tree. Would you like that Ink? A large tree, growing up your body.”  _

“Dream,” Ink panted, gritting his teeth through the pain of having a dagger carved into his bones, “please. Stop this. I- I was scared! I’m not used to this and I-” Ink cut himself off with a scream. Dream had twisted his dagger cruelly, seemingly ignoring the other. “Dream,  _ please! _ !” Ink screamed, tears falling down his cheeks. 

_ “Oh hush. You know, this hurts me too. All of this negativity.”  _ Dream shuddered.  _ “Yuck. Anywho, you big baby, I’m almost done.”  _ Dream stopped the carving and sat back, looking at the picture he had carved into Ink’s bones.  _ “Now…”  _ Dream purred.  _ “Now your punishment begins.”  _ And while maintaining eye contact with Ink, Dream reached behind him and rammed the dagger into Ink’s tibia. Wailing, Ink thrashed, but Dream swiftly stood up and kicked him in the side of the head. He heard the cracks forming along his skull. He heard Dream chuckle softly as he gently rubbed over them. His vision swam, and he felt like he was being pulled under an ocean of darkness. 

Then, bright light exploded across his vision. 

_ “Oh no, no passing out on me. You need to be awake for your punishment.”  _ As Dream continued, the very stars seemed to tremble with how loud Ink screamed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ink trembled when Dream walked back to him after washing the dust and ink off his hands.

_ “Oh Ink,”  _ he cooed.  _ “Have you learned your lesson?”  _ Whimpering, Ink nodded.

“Please, please, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so, so, sorry please, please, just make it stop, please don’t hurt me more _ , please  _ I’m sorry!” Dream smiled widely.

_ “That makes me so happy to hear, Ink.I’ll heal you, but if this happens again, I’ll leave you here with the daggers still pinning you to the ground, understood?”  _ Ink nodded desperately. Dream removed the daggers pinning Ink to the ground slowly, seeming to relish the loud scream and fresh tears that Ink let out. 

Green magic flowed out from Dream’s fingers and healed all the wounds which he had inflicted on the other. 

_ “There you go,”  _ Dream smiled.  _ “Now, what have we learned? Just one more time, please?”  _

“A-always tell you whenever I’m feeling real emotions. O-o-or the punishment will be great,” Ink managed to choke out. Dream beamed. 

_ “Exactly! I’m so glad we managed to get on the same page! Now, I'll leave you to sulk for a bit, knowing how dramatic you are. Never say I’m not a good friend!”  _ With a wink, Dream disappeared through a portal to God knows where, Ink didn’t care as long as he was gone. His bones pulsed with phantom pain. 

After waiting a few minutes to make sure Dream was really gone, Ink sobbed. How could his friend do this to him? He had seen the changes, yes. He had watched as he molded Blue into a lethal, emotionless, tool for him to use. He had noticed how Dream started to record fights between them and Nightmare’s gang, making up different excuses each time, and he had watched as Dream started to care less and less about him. 

Then… then Blue had started to act the same way. Ink fought the new tears forming in his sockets. They didn’t hate him. No. They were probably just tired of war. War changes everyone. Things would go back to normal soon. He just had to be patient. That was it. All he had to do was be patient! Be patient, make sure not to get Dream mad…

“But…” He whispered to himself, “real friends don’t hurt each other… right?”


	15. Come Little One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare really shouldn't jump to conclusions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first arc of this story is complete! Woo! Now I need to figure out the plot for the second arc....
> 
> Thank you all who have stuck with me! I love you all so much!!
> 
> Comments and Kudos's are appreciated, they keep me motivated! :)

AN: Alright. So, this obviously has Dreammare in it. For all of you who are like: SIN! my response is simple: I don't see them as brothers. They are spirits who came out of a TREE they weren't even born. They just use the word "brother" because it's what everyone else called them. They aren't related, for them "brother" is a term that they use just as a couple would use "babe". Ok? Okay.

(A few months later)

It started as a normal day for Ink. Lock the doodlesphere so Dream couldn’t come in until Ink was ready to deal with him, squirm his way into his clothes, and take his paints. But as he was putting his shirt on, he noticed something rather… peculiar. What was-

Holy shit.

Holy fucking hell.

What the fuck. 

Dream was going to fucking kill him for this. There was no way to hide this from him. He needed to leave, needed to run, needed to get some goddamn answers! He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He knew that his panic would alert Dream that not only was something amiss, but he was hiding real emotions _again_.

Then he felt it. A mental knock that alerted him that someone wanted to get into the doodlesphere. Dream. Ink’s eyelights flashed in alarm. He hadn’t been able to do it. He hadn’t been able to clamp down on his panic and stars above, he knew he was going to pay for it. With utmost hesitation, Ink opened the doodlesphere. Dream came in and looked at him.

_“OuterTale. Now.”_

~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, Dream could taste his fear. It disgusted him. Unlike on Nightmare, where fear was a rare treat, on Ink it was revolting. Dream had warned him. Had given him chance after chance. But Ink hadn’t listened. Now, Ink was going to- wait. What was that? Determination? Was Dream going to get some unplanned entertainment today? Oh yes. It tasted like it. Wonderful. He needed to brush up on his close combat skill anyway. 

_“Oh Ink,”_ he sighed. _“Do you really think you stand a chance against me?”_ He watched as Ink settled into a defensive stance. Well, at least the other knew Dream was going on the offensive. Grinning what he knew was an unnerving smile, Dream summoned his daggers. He looked at them and sighed. 

_“You know, I think my weapons need a new look. Blue is more Nightmare’s thing, you know? Maybe I’ll just…”_ Snapping his fingers, Dream changed the color of his electric blue daggers to match his eyelights.

_“Wonderful. I’ve always thought black and gold looked good together.”_

~~~~~~~~~

When Nightmare went to OuterTale, he didn't expect to see his brother and the stain of the universe fighting like the end was near. He blinked, rubbed his eye, then pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He wasn’t. 

Dream was obviously having fun, which made him think the fight was staged.

But then he felt Ink’s fear. He felt Ink’s desperation. It amused him to no end that Dream was the cause of all the fear. So he stayed and watched, curious to see who the winner would be and because, well, who was he to deny himself a good meal? He needed it. He deserved it. Ever since Killer and Cross got together, Nightmare had been feeling horrible. Of course, no one noticed, and of course he was happy for them but he just… why couldn’t anyone love him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dream grinned when he felt his brother enter the universe. He couldn’t help but mentally coo at the mess of emotions his brother was. The poor thing was depressed. Ah, if only Nightmare was with him. He would keep his beauty so happy. 

Dream’s grin stretched wider when he felt the surprise, then amusement, that radiated off of his brother. So Nightmare wasn’t going to be a courageous hero and save Ink? Dream knew that Nightmare had extensive knowledge of his fighting abilities. Nightmare knew that Dream could kill Ink, but did nothing. 

Interesting. 

Dream knew Error cared about the Ink-stain, as much as the destroyer tried to hide it. So why wasn’t Nightmare helping Ink out? 

Then Dream felt the satisfaction coming from his brother. Nightmare was _feeding_? Off of Ink’s misery? Dream let out a bark of laughter.

His brother was more cruel than he thought. He glanced over at Ink’s face. Ink didn’t know Nightmare was here. Well. Who was Dream to deny his grieving beauty a feast? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ink groaned. Okay, that fight had really freaking hurt. And to think he didn’t even manage to get a hit on Dream! When had he been so good at close combat?! The dude used a bow for star's sake! He looked down at his cracked rib cage, and nearly started having a panic attack. Okay. He needed to calm down. He needed to calm waaaay the fuck down. Think happy thoughts. Think of stars, kittens, cute little hand knitted dolls….

Feeling a bit more calm, Ink went through a mental list of people he could trust. Dream wasn’t on it, as much as it hurt him. But Error.

Error was on that list. Fumbling in his pocket for the blue strong that Error had given him for emergencies, Ink fought down the rising blush that wanted to rise at the thought of the destroyer. Opening a portal to OuterTale, Ink pulled the string and waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Error had never really expected to feel the strong he had given Error be pulled. Ink was powerful. Unless he was taken by surprise from Nightmare, (and wouldn’t that be a fun time to explain to him what Ink meant to Error!) Error didn’t really see why Ink would need to pull on the string. They could always text or call each other after all. 

So when he did feel the pull, he panicked. He honed in on where the strong was, OuterTale, and opened a portal as soon as possible. When he saw Ink, just sitting there with no attackers, he got very annoyed.

“Ink! I told you only to pull the string if there was an emergency!” Ink didn’t turn around. If anything, he seemed to curl in on himself.

“Ink…?” Now worried once more, Error quickly made his way to the guardian until he was only a few feet away from the other’s back.

“I’m sorry Ru. I didn’t know who else to call.” Error sighed and let his strings flow over the other and settle on his back like they were a blanket.

“It’s alright. Tell me what’s wrong squid.” Ink finally turned around. His hands were cupped, and in them was a tiny white soul with an iridescent sheen to it. It honestly seemed like it was half size. Ink had tears welling up in his sockets.

“I think I found out why I’m feeling real emotions,” He whispered. Error just stared.

“It’s… yours?” Ink nodded.

“I can feel with it. I can feel what happens to it. I don’t know what to do, Error! And Dream’s reaction...” Error looked up sharply from the soul to Ink’s face.

“Why does Dream’s reaction matter, Ink?” Ink flinched.

“No reason. Just forget it. I don’t know where this came from or why it’s here. Do… Do you know of any way to find this sorta stuff out?” Error was silent.

“Maybe…” he began thoughtfully, “I think I know someone who can help you. Lemme just call him.” 

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Error quickly went through his contacts. Finding the one he desired, he called them. Before the other could even say “hello”, Error was talking.

“I need you to look at someone for me. Just promise me you won’t kill them.” Then, he hung. He turned back to Ink. Gently tightening the strings around the other, Error coaxed him to get up.

“Come on Squid. Let’s get you some help.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Ink watched Error called. He watched as Error opened a portal to somewhere. It was dark.

“Come one Squid. Let’s get you some help.” The strings that tightened around him and helped ground him. He stood up and walked through the portal. 

And almost instantly regretted it. 

It was dark, yes. But nothing, no amount of darkness could hide that single bright teal eyelight that promised pain. It seemed to gaze right through him and find his most dirty secrets.

 **“You have a lot of nerve to bring one of Dream’s puppets here, Error.”** Both Error and Ink flinched, but for different reasons. Ink hated that. He was not a puppet, not a husk waiting to be filled. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I had no choice, Nightmare. What’s happened to him” Error shrugged helplessly. “It’s way out of my expertise.” Nightmare’s eyelight narrowed.

 **“And why should I care?”** Error sighed.

“You’ll care about this. Ink, show him.” Ink looked at Nightmare, then at Error.

“I… I don’t know Error. He really doesn’t like me.” Nightmare snorted.

 **“That is an understatement.”** Error groaned.

“Night, please just look. I wouldn’t bring him here unless it was an emergency!”

**“Why do you want to help him at all?!”**

“He’s my other half, Night! How am I supposed to live without him?!” Error snapped. The room itself seemed to get darker. The air got thicker, the temperature dropped, and Nightmare’s single eyelight burned with anger. 

**“Are you his twin?”** Nightmare asked, his voice deceptively soft. **“Did you spend most of your life** **loving** **him to no end? Did you care for him when he was sick, heal him when he was injured?”** Error swallowed. Ink trembled.

“Night-”

 **“I have lived over FIVE HUNDRED YEARS without my other half! And I LOVED him! I would have done anything he asked! And you DARE tell ME that you won’t be able to?!”** The walls shook. Across the multiverse, negativity surged. Universes were rocking back and forth, the people who weren’t suddenly depressed and overcome with sadness were trying to get others out of the way of falling buildings, collapsing bridges, and disintegrating streets. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Error felt it. He could feel the balance tipping towards destruction, tipping towards negativity. He never knew that Nightmare was this powerful. He never knew that Nightmare could affect every universe if he chose to. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dream was…. Surprised. Nightmare usually kept his power under control. He didn’t let himself get angry enough to affect the multiverse in such a way. Dream sighed. His poor beauty. Nightmare wouldn’t be this miserable if he was him! Oh no! Dream would keep him happy and content…. And full of pleasure. A wicked smirk found its way on Dream's jaws. Definitely full of pleasure. But oh, Nightmare’s emotions were a mess. Nightmare… Nightmare missed him! Nightmare loved him! _Yes!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightmare took a deep breath and closed his eye socket. The shaking stopped, the temperature returned to normal, and no longer did the air feel suffocating. 

**“Fine,”** he spat out. **“What is this... ‘emergency’. I swear, it better be good.”** Error nodded and then nudged Ink. Nightmare groaned and rubbed at his temples. He stood up and marched across the room, filled a glass with what suspiciously looked like spiked apple cider, and then sat back down. 

“Show him.” Ink squeaked.

“Yeah! ‘Cause the walls shaking and the yelling really made me less scared!”

“Hurry up and show him before he decided to dust us both!” Grumbling, Ink lifted his shirt to reveal his ribcage. The glass in Nightmare’s hand shattered.

Happily floating in Ink’s rib cage was a half formed, iridescent soul.

~~~~~~~~

The soul was Ink’s. That much was obvious to Nightmare. What was also obvious to Nightmare was that it was formed out of Ink’s love for Error. 

Ink’s _love_ . for _Error._

_What the fuck?!_

Error…. Error hadn’t told him. Error didn’t tell him that they were together! Sure, Nightmare loathed the artist, but he had good reason! Ink hurt his boys! Made them suffer! And Error was just… giving him enough love to form a motherfucking _soul_?! The fucker didn’t deserve it!

 **“How dare you,”** he growled. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Error and Ink blinked as one. 

“Huh?” Nightmare snarled.

 **“How long did you think you could hide this from me?!”** Ink took a step back. Those words sure sounded a lot like Dream…

“Night,” Error placated, “It’s just a soul. He can’t control if it-”

 **“You think I care if he gets a soul?!”** Nightmare’s tentacles shifted dangerously behind him. **“No,”** He spat. **“I care because of the reason that this soul was formed. Your other half… ha… now I see why you were so desperate as to come to me.”** A tear slowly traced its way down Nightmare’s cheek. **“A soul formed out of love…”** Error and Ink stared at Nightmare then at each other. Neither of them seemed to notice that Nightmare was crying.

“Love?” Ink whispered. “It was formed out of love?” The tears on Nightmare’s face were impossible to hide now. 

**“Yes.”** He quickly turned around and formed a portal to GemTale and ran in before Error could stop him.

“Nightmare, wait-!”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Error and Ink were dating. So even Ink could find love. Killer, Cross, Error… who else was going to leave him alone? Dust and Horror were dating. Dream and Blue were loved by everyone in the Multiverse. Nightmare didn’t have anyone left.

 _“Oh, Nightmare…. My love, what is wrong? Your negativity is out of wack.”_ Nightmare let out a sob.

 **“Just leave me alone, Dream. I can’t deal with you right now.”** Dream tutted. 

_“Now, now. Do you really think I’m going to do that? You obviously need to talk to someone, and I’m right here. What happened? What’s wrong?”_

~~~~~~~~~~

So his beauty found out about Ink and Error? How sad. Nightmare’s love for his boys really was something, and Dream found it odd that he had never been able to sense it before. The fact that everyone Nightmare cared about was currently in a relationship worked well In Dream’s favor. He could finally show Nightmare that they had no room for him in their souls to love him. Dream had been waiting for centuries, but finally, his beauty was ready to come home.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightmare finished his story and Dream sighed.

 _“Oh you poor thing. I warned you this would happen, but you just had to be so stubborn.”_ Dream looked at his brother with love and pity in his eyelights. He slowly extended his hand.

 _“I miss you, my love. I never stopped loving you. Come back to me, Nightmare. I will give you everything you could ever need, everything you could ever want. Come back to me.”_ Tears once more streamed down Nightmare’s face. He was so tired. He couldn’t deal with anything more. He hadn’t slept in so long, he just wanted to be safe. Wrapped in Dreams warm aura, Nightmare started to collapse to the ground.

~~~~~~~

Swooping him up in his arms before he could fall to the ground, Dream cradled Nightmare close to his chest. 

_“Oh, Nightmare,”_ The god purred. _“I’m never letting you go.”_ He opened a portal to his personal universe and stepped through. 


	16. To Travel Across Multiverses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seems our multiverse has a guest. Question is, who will he help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good lord. I have not posted in forever. No, this fic is not dead. Yes, I have plans for it. No, I have no excuses. Yes, I am sorry ;-;

When Nightmare woke up, he felt safer than he had in years. He remembered crying in front of Dream, Dream..

Oh good fuck. 

His boys. He needed to go back to his boys, he probably got Error worried and upset- 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Dream sighed as he felt Nightmare begin to panic. Picking up the breakfast tray he had been piling food onto, he walked into Nightmare’s room.

_ “Night, please calm yourself. You need to regain your strength, and panicking will not help you. Here, have some breakfast.”  _ Nightmare eye the breakfast wearily.

**“Have you drugged it?”** Dream blinked owlishly at him before bursting out laughing.

_ “Oh my goodness Night! Of course it’s not drugged! That would be very counterproductive!”  _ Nightmare continued to look at him wearily.

**“Why..why are you helping me?”** Dream’s smile fell.

_ “I don’t know why you won’t believe me about this Night… I love you. I’ve only ever loved you. You are my other half, my soulmate! I’ve missed you so much, and I can’t stand to see you hurt!”  _ Nightmare’s jaw dropped.

**“Even after… everything?”** Dream smiled as his sockets filled with tears.

_ “Of course Night.” _

**“Why… why didn’t you say anything earlier?!”** Dream cocked his head.

_ “You seemed happier with your gang. But… it appears I was wrong. I’m sorry, love. If I had known how upset you were, I would have come sooner.” _

**“I was! I-I am! I am happy with them!”** Dream smirked to himself. Oh, his beauty sounded unsure of himself. Perfect. 

_ “Look what they’ve done to you Night. Now that you’ve let your walls down, I can tell just how hurt you are. Why do you keep lying to yourself?”  _ Carefully, Dream inched his way to be flush against Nightmare.  _ “Why do you keep denying yourself what you truly want? What you truly need? I’ve been waiting for so long, Night.”  _ Nightmare let his skull drop. Dream could feel the turmoil inside the darker guardian, and he could practically taste his victory. He leaned in close to where Nightmare’s ear would be. 

_ “Give into me, Moonlight. You know you want to.”  _ One of Dream’s hands slid under the dark turtle neck Nightmare wore and trailed up his ribs. Then, ever so slowly, with Nightmare quivering under him, Dream stroked Nightmare’s beautifully glowing soul. 

_ “Be mine again,”  _ Dream murmured. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightmare didn’t know what to think. His boys needed him! Why was he still allowing this to happen?! But he missed his brother… his aura always calmed him. It was soothing, inviting him to stay and sleep again. He tried to fight it, but like Dream had said. He just wanted to be loved and his brother was offering Nightmare what he had always dreamed of. Maybe… maybe just a quick nap…

~~~~~~~~ 

Dream smiled in triumph. 

_ “There you go brother…. They will never hurt you again. You’re mine.”  _

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Killer! Dust! Horror! Cross! Get your asses in here!” Error screamed at the top of his lungs. The four ran in soon after. Almost immediately drawing their weapons when they saw Ink. 

“Don’t he’s not why I called you in here. Nightmare-” Error’s non existent throat clogged up. “Nightmare is missing.” 

Cross narrowed his sockets.

“How is Nightmare missing? And you have to explain why the artist is here!” 

“He’s here because I brought him here. He had an issue that I had no idea how to deal with, but then Nightmare got furious and… hurt, and left. Then his code just… disappeared.” Cross snorted.

“Maybe he wants to be left alone, dumbass.”

“Nightmare doesn’t have the ability to hide his code, Cross!” Error snapped. Error school his head and tears began to stream out of his sockets.

“Why are you crying?!”

“Only Dream and I have that ability, Cross.” Error whispered. Cross’s eyelights guttered out.

“...What?” He whispered. “Does… can Dream hide other people’s code?” Error slowly nodded. Cross nodded to himself.

“And what,” he began slowly, “got Nightmare so upset that he left and was vulnerable enough for Dream to take him?” Error winced.

“I-I said i couldn’t live without my other half, he thinks Ink and I are… together, even though we’re not! I-”

“It’s not that, Error.” Ink softly interrupted. Confused, Error looked at the artist.

“What?”

“It was the fact that I had a soul formed out of love. Your love. He probably thought you were abandoning him or something.” Ink’s eyelights were a royal blue tear drop and light blue octagon. Silence followed his statement. Error had his hands over his mouth, horror in his eyelights.

“No...No he knows I would never abandon him!” Cross sighed.

“Nightmare has always been insecure. It’s why Killer and I were hesitant to tell him we were dating. But if Dream’s gotten a hold of him....” Cross shuddered. “We need to get him back.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dream did not know where he was. First thing the last thing he remembered, he had been in a meeting with Ink, deciding the best way to catch his ridiculous brother- was that  _ him?!  _

**_“Excuse me, but what multiverse am I in?_ ** _ ” _

~~~~~~~~~~

Dream jolted when he heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like his. He turned around and saw himself, but with enormous golden wings and a floating crown. He sighed. 

_ “You are in the original multiverse.”  _ The other Dream nodded to himself, and then hummed. 

**_“Well, it seems like my universe is a swap… You can call me Angel. I don’t suppose you have anyway for me to go home?”_ ** Dream’s eyes narrowed. Swap universe? Angel, as he called himself, might then not love Nightmare. Angel might try and hurt Nightmare, if he ever saw him. 

_ “No,”  _ Dream said in a clipped tone.  _ “I do not.”  _ Angel cocked his head curiously at the sudden tone change. 

**_“Have I done something to offend you, guardian?”_ **

_ “I am simply… busy with something incredibly important. I must get back to it, and I am afraid I cannot help you.”  _ With that, Dream turned on his heel and disappeared through a portal. 

**_Curious_ ** , Angel thought.  **_I wonder what has him so busy. Perhaps if I help him with what he’s doing, he will help me in return._ ** Nodding to himself, Angel began to search for the guardian of Light. He found the guardian of Dark instead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel was, if he had to use one word, gobsmacked. The amount of  _ power  _ this version of his brother had... the way his singular teal eyelight gleamed with intelligence and strength. This version of his brother was perfect. This version of his brother was everything he could ever dream of. This version of his brother  _ needed _ to be his. This… this must have been why Dream had suddenly given him the cold shoulder. He was worried that he would hurt his brother because he was from a swapped universe. But as Angel continued to gaze down on the pitch black skeleton, he couldn’t imagine doing anything but pleasing the smaller.

Angel needed to find Dream. 


End file.
